San Diego County, San Diego Rat Control Situation:
Hi David, Is a UV blacklight still useful, exterior-wise, if it rains after the rodents leave their urine stains? I am in the process of performing exterior maintenance to better exclude my roof rats. 1) I have a 25 year old cedar shake roof in San Diego California with openings under each shake along the rake edge of the roof at the gable ends of my house. There's no drip edge, i.e. under the shakes I have roofing paper (now somewhat curled) that runs more or less up to and rests right atop the fascia board. Because I have skip sheathing, and since the cross section of a shake is a wedge that is up to one inch at the upper, thick end, this appears to create many huge entry points along the rake edges even though the sheathing is rabbeted into the fascia board. As a result, I'm thinking of getting a UV blacklight to use outside the house to sleuth for urine stains along the upper edge of the gable end shakes and fascia boards. My question is, how easily does the winter rain wash away the urine, rendering this a pointless exercise? 2) I noticed a new product called "rat-out gel" and was thinking of applying it along the rake edges mentioned above. Or, maybe I should just buy many rolls of X-Clude and use that instead. Or maybe both. Any comment? Thanks very much for your website, Doug
My response: First off, I do not have experience using UV lights to detect rat urine. But I do suspect that rain will severely limit the effectiveness of this approach. I have never heard of Rat-Out Gel or XClude, but I typically stick to physical barriers rather than repellent type devices. If your roof makes this impossible, you might have a tough time keeping the rats out.
San Diego Rat Control Tip of The Week
What Materials Can Rats Chew Through?
A rat problem in the home can be a genuine headache for individuals to manage. Rats can pollute food supplies when they get into kitchens, and they can spread sicknesses to people through bites if they feel threatened. They can destroy furniture and chew through most materials in the house. Rats can bite through nearly anything, and they reproduce quickly within short time frames. This implies one pregnant rat can easily lead to numerous rats. This isn't acceptable because all of the potential health hazards associated with rats, and the harm they can cause to property and belongings can cost you a lot of time and cash.
One of the most striking facts about a rat's teeth is the way their incisors grow constantly! Imagine having a couple of front teeth that keep growing long and strong all through your lifetime. Rats need to chew through a wide range of materials to wear their teeth out. Otherwise, their teeth will grow too long, making it impossible for them to eat or close their mouths, ultimately killing them. So, what exactly do they like to chew through?
Rats' Favorite Things To Chew
Rats chew constantly. This can be a frustrating discovery for a homeowner, particularly one who has exhausted all endeavors attempting to keep rats out. We've listed some of the most common and frequent items that rats like to chew on:- Wood
- Cement
- Plastic
- Brick
- Aluminum
- Lead
- Cinder Blocks
- Asbestos
Although rats can bite through some quite strong materials, there are still ways to block the rats from coming inside.
